Sandé’s success across the pond in America continues to grows — “Next To Me” was recently officially certified as a platinum single — and as it does, her relationship to the States takes on an interesting new shine.

In an interview with Radio.com, Sandé told us what she finds inspiring about our fair country and how American music influenced her formative songwriting years. Sandé says some of the artists who’ve most impressed her were American R&B artists from the 2000s.

“I grew up in this small, rural town on the north east of Scotland,” she said. “There weren’t too many people that liked the same music as I did. But I had all the stuff my dad had introduced me to, like Mariah Carey and Anitia Baker, which I loved. But I was really trying to find my own identity, my own kind of music group. There’s this radio station called Rhythm Nation and that’s how I heard [Alicia Keys’] “Fallin'” for the first time. I heard Jill Scott and Lauryn Hill and Muisq Souldchild — that whole neo-soul scene that was coming out… Then to work with Alicia [on songwriting] was amazing, you know? From 15 [and] hearing her on the radio from Scotland, to sitting with her in New York was incredible.”